THIS is an easy circuit of a lovely lake, returning via a fine old house.Winterburn is a farming community in an attractive fold of the hills.

Start from the road junction in the hamlet. There is parking by the bridge on the Hetton-Airton road.

From the T-junction, head along the dead-end road through the hamlet. As a farm road it crosses a lengthy pasture to a bridge on Winterburn Beck.

Across it follow the road right, through woodland alongside the beck before climbing to approach the old reservoir keeper’s house.

Your route does not quite reach it: instead, turn left up the drive that leads circuitously to Way Gill Farm.

Without entering its yard, take a gate on the right to cross to another gate right of the house.

With the reservoir ahead, bear gently left down the field to a stile onto High Cow House farm road. Go left, but leave it before the farm at a wall-stile on the right to descend a field to the reservoir.

At the bottom, turn left through several fields above the shore to reach a bridge over Bordley Beck before it enters the lake.

Winterburn Reservoir was constructed to supply the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Gargrave, and attracts much birdlife.

Across the bridge, a bridleway heads up the rough pasture, briefly half-left before turning right to rise gradually, then levelling out to reach a gate in a wall.

Pass through onto unsurfaced Moor Lane, but leave immediately by a gate on the right. A path heads away across a rough pasture, becoming briefly enclosed between newly-planted trees. Resuming, it crosses further rough pasture towards Long Hill Farm.

Through a gate in a fence, join a wall on the right, outside the farming confines and on to a corner gate. Advance on the field-side past another house to the next corner gate.

Entering a large sheep pasture head diagonally away, a thin trod curving left of the brow and dropping to a gate at the far end.

Head away with a wall on your left, passing barns at Owslin Laithe and remaining on this wall-side path through one further field. At the end, don’t pass through the corner gate but swing up to the right with the wall to a gate onto a road.

From a gate opposite, descend with the wall to a gate/stile, then a little wall-side path rises past a barn to reach a gate at the end.

Resume with the wall now on the right to a gate in a fence. Bear right to merge with a wall, and continue down the wall-side to a gate.

Now, accompany the wall down further fields to a gate onto Winterburn Lane opposite Friars Head. This magnificent 17th century house boasts an intricate facade of mullioned windows. Originally a monastic grange, farm life still survives here. Turn right to quickly finish.